EU fines Temu €200m for allowing sale of illegal products

The European Commission says the Chinese-owned online retailer failed to take account of risks from baby toys and faulty chargers sold on its platform. EU fines Temu €200m for allowing sale of illegal products Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Smartphone screen showing Temu website with flags in the background, at the headquarters of the European Council in Brussels. The European Union has imposed a €200m ($232m; £173m) fine on Chinese-owned online retailer Temu for having illegal products such as dangerous baby toys and faulty chargers for sale on its platform. The European Commission said the company had "failed to diligently identify, analyse and assess the systemic risks" of the products and the harm they could cause to consumers. Temu has been under investigation since October 2024 over whether it has been meeting its obligations as a designated Very Large Online Platform under EU law. The online retailer said it disagreed with the decision and deemed the fine disproportionate, and was now considering available options. The investigation involved a mystery shopping exercise carried out by an independent testing organisation, which found that a high percentage of chargers purchased through Temu failed basic electrical safety tests. It also found that a high proportion of baby toys posed safety risks, containing chemicals above legal limits or featuring small detachable parts that presented suffocation hazards, Euronews reported. As well as paying the fine, Temu has to present an action plan to address the failures by 28 August. The Commission then has two months to decide whether the company has done enough to comply. EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen told reporters that the decision was intended to send a "very strong message" to Temu. A Temu spokesperson said in a statement that the retailer respected the need for clear, consistent rules, but that the decision related to 2024 and did not reflect the current state of its systems. "We disagree with the European Commission's decision and consider the fine to be disproportionate," they said. "We are reviewing the decision carefully and considering all available options." The fine is only the second imposed under the EU's Digital Services Act for content, the first being a €120m penalty against Elon Musk's X social media network last December. The fine is only the second imposed under the EU's Digital Services Act for content, the first being a €120m penalty against Elon Musk's X social media network Natalie Ramsell-Lee. She has short brown hair, a fringe and wears glasses. She is also wearing a black and white polkadot blouse. She is sat her desk, with one of her designs on the screen, and is smiling at the camera. 'My child's photo was stolen to sell goods on Temu' A three-year-old girl sits on a grey seat, revealing a 10cm square bald patch on her scalp, surrounded by her natural brown hair. Her mother’s hand rests gently on her head, her fingernails painted a striking red. Warning after Temu brush rips out child's hair Temu's Chinese owner sees profits plunge as trade war bites The complaints come as ministers consider closer alignment with EU food rules to ease delays. Industry figures briefed on the move said the idea has not been taken forward at this point, after EU scepticism. She told an EU summit that an expert panel was due to come up with steps on how to protect minors online by July. The internet giant dwarfs other online retailers on both sides of the Atlantic. King Colis is a French company which resells unopened and undelivered parcels. Designer says it was “gut-wrenching” to see her daughter's picture used to sell copies of her work. Marks & Spencer's Lichfield hub is designed to boost its online fashion capacity, opening in 2027. The unmanned aircraft can drop off 100 parcels a day within a 12km radius of Amazon's hub.